Otherworld is Universal
by The Otaku With Hazel Eyes
Summary: After Ace dies, the last place he expected himself to be was standing in line while surrounded by golden clouds and ogres. Oh, and missing his legs. (One-shot.)


**I have no idea where this came from... and honestly, I doubt any one cares. Anyway, I took a few liberties with Otherworld, like the way the souls who didn't keep their bodies looked. That was always inconsistent anyway.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece or Dragon Ball. Those belong to Eiichiro Oda and Akira Toriyama, respectively.**

* * *

One second, Ace was on the battlefield of Marineford, dying in his precious brother's arms as he gave one last declaration of gratitude to both him and his comrades. The next second, Ace found himself standing in a long line, surrounded by golden clouds.

"What? _What_?!" Ace shouted, looking frantically from side to side. "Where am I? What is this place?" He paused, and looked down. "... AND WHERE THE HECK ARE MY LEGS?!"

Oh, and his legs were apparently missing. In their place was a wispy ghost tail the same color as his shorts.

"Oh geez- we got a another spaz!" the person standing in line in front of Ace hollered.

Everyone in line groaned collectively.

Ace shot the person in front of him, a dark haired girl wearing a yellow sundress (who was also legless), a glare. "Hey! Who are you calling a spaz?"

"I'm calling _you_ a spaz! We're all going to be in this line for who-knows how long, and the last thing anybody wants to hear is some schmuck panicking!"

Ace scowled, then took a deep, calming breath. "Okay, I'm calm. Miss, would mind telling me what exactly is going on?"

The girl raised an eyebrow, then pointed above her head. Floating there was a golden halo. "You're dead, obviously."

Ace glanced up, noticing for the first time that he too had a halo. He crossed his arms. "I gathered that much. I distinctly remember being impaled and dying in my brother's arms."

The girl winced. "Ouch. That makes the way I died seem kind of silly."

"How did you die?"

"I got turned into candy and was eaten by a pink bubblegum monster... as did most of everyone in this line."

"... What kind crazy place are you all from?"

"The worst kind. Would you believe this everyone's second time here?"

Ace's eyes widened. "The second time? How do you die _twice_?!"

"A lot of us were killed seven years ago by a monster named Cell. Then we were all miraculously brought back to life, though don't ask me why. This is my second time in line, so the novelty's worn off," the girl explained. "My name's Forma, by the way."

"Ace," Ace replied. He looked around. "So where is 'here', exactly?"

"You're in Otherworld, and this is where you go when you're dead. As far as I can gather, we wait in this line until we get to the Heavenly Check-In Station and then they decide whether we go to Heaven or... _not_ Heaven."

"Who's _they_?"

"Beats me. I've never made it that far."

That did little to ease Ace's growing anxiousness. There was so much to take in. He was dead, he was in the afterlife, and now he had to stand in line to meet whoever was going to decide his fate. He was a pirate, dammit! He created his own fate, he didn't let someone decide it for him!

... Holy crap, he was a _pirate_. On top of that, he was the son of the freaking _Pirate King_. If those weren't grounds to get sent to 'not Heaven', he didn't what would be.

Ace spent the rest of his time in line in silence, both of which seemed to go on forever. He occasionally looked over his shoulder and saw the line behind him get longer and longer. If he squinted hard enough, he could make out a few Marine uniforms and even a few pirates he knew, the latter making his heart twist painfully. The same went for the line in front of him. Though, most of the people he saw he assumed to be from wherever Forma once lived. Many rambled on about the pink bubblegum monster or how somebody named Mr. Satan had failed them. Occasionally, he would pass weird guys with red or blue skin and horns directing the line with megaphones. They looked like demons, if demons worked in an office anyway. He did his best to ignore them.

As the wait continued, Ace lost his short-lived anxiety. Now he was just bored, and little ashamed of himself for getting worked up. He didn't regret dying- he knew that saving Luffy and being a pirate and living life free as well- would have their consequences and he accepted them. And if living life the way he had resulted in being sent to Hell... well, he had already gone to Impel Down.

He figured actual Hell couldn't be too different from that.

* * *

He didn't know how long he was in line for, but after what felt like an eternity, Ace could see a moderately-sized building up ahead. It had a sign declaring it to be the Heavenly Check-In Station.

"Attention!" one blue ogre- as Ace had learned they were- yelled into his megaphone. "You are now approaching the Heavenly Check-In Station. Remember to stay in line and keep your hands to yourselves! Also, anyone caught cutting in line will be sent straight to Hell!"

"Seriously?" Ace asked as he walked (could it be called walking if he didn't have legs?) up next to the ogre.

The ogre looked around, as if to make sure no one was listening, then whispered, "Nah, but it's a great motivator for the souls to behave."

Ace chuckled. "So, how is all this going to play out, anyway?"

"I guess there's no harm in you knowing. When you reach this end of this line, you will be brought before King Yemma, and he will look over your life and decide where you go."

"They only have one guy doing this? No wonder this line is going so slow!"

"Oh, it usually goes much faster, But with all the new arrivals from Planet Earth, he has a lot of paperwork and red tape to work through."

Ace considered asking about the fact there were apparently other planets, but dismissed it in favor of a different question.

"So... even in death we can't escape bureaucracy?" Ace asked in deadpan.

The ogre sighed. "I know. Terrible, isn't it."

Ace sighed. That figured.

The ogre went off with his megaphone as the line started to move again. It only took Ace roughly two hours before he found himself next to the station's entrance.

 _Okay, you can do this_ , Ace told himself. _When it's your turn, you will take the verdict with pride._

"Oh, come on!" Forma complained in front of him.

"What's wrong?" the pirate asked.

Forma pointed inside. "There's some doofus in there holding up that King Yemma guy!"

Ace looked over her shoulder. Aside from a massive desk, the only thing he could see was a tall man in an orange gi who had the craziest-looking black hair he had ever seen. He had a halo, showing he was dead, but unlike the other souls in line, he still had his legs. Additionally, he looked more solid than the other souls, as well as having more color. The dead Ace had seen thus far had no legs, were somewhat translucent, and their colors were all washed-out. Why was this guy different?

"... So, he's not dead?" the weird spiky haired guy was saying. "Woo-hoo, he's not dead! He's not dead!"

The weirdo shot into the air and began doing backflips in joy. Ace briefly wondered how he was able fly. A devil fruit, perhaps? Wait, did you get to keep your devil fruit powers if you were dead? He looked down at his hand and tried to ignite it. Nothing happened.

 _That answers that question,_ Ace thought. _Bummer._

When Ace looked back up again, the doofus was gone and the line was moving again.

"Hey, who was that spiky guy holding up the line?" Ace asked the ogre watching the station's entrance. "And why did he look different?"

"Oh, that was Son Goku. He's a hero who has saved his planet many times, so when he died he was allowed to keep his true body," the dorky ogre replied chipperly. "I heard that he was allowed to return home the other day, so I guess that was him coming back."

"You're allowed to go home for one day?!" Ace gasped. (He chose to ignore the possibility of other planets. His day was insane enough already.)

"Yes, but only after seven years, only for one day, and even then only if you were a truly exceptional soul. Like, saving-the-world-five-times-over exceptional."

Ace frowned. Dang, there went that hope.

After that, Ace entered the building and got his first look at King Yemma. He was another ogre, only he was roughly the size of a giant, wasn't skinny, and had a beard. Ace was actually a little disappointed. He expected the heavenly being who would be deciding his fate to be a little more intimidating. He supposed beggars can't be choosers.

"Next!" Yemma shouted in a deep, booming voice.

"That's me," Forma said. She smiled at Ace. "Wish me luck!"

"Good luck," he told her.

Forma moved up to the desk, and that was when Ace realized how exhausted he felt. He had come out of a battle and had stood in a line for what felt like days.

 _I'm actually surprised_ , Ace thought. _Considering how much of a narcoleptic I am, it's a miracle I haven't-_

* * *

"Sir? Excuse me, sir!"

Ace's eyes snapped open. "Huh? What the-?"

"Sire, you fell asleep," the ogre who had awoken him said. "At first those behind you thought you had died, but they realized how ridiculous that sounded."

Ace rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. "Yeah, that happens more often than you think."

"Well, in any case, you're up," the ogre went on. "Please approach King Yemma, and I better not hear you give a fuss."

Ace nodded, swallowed, and did as he was told.

King Yemma pulled out a file and began leafing through it. "Portgas D. Ace, eh? According to your file, you're from the Planet Azul in the furthest reaches of the South Galaxy, and you died as a result of internal injuries caused by a magma man."

Ace grimaced when he mentioned Akainu. "Yes sir, that's correct."

"Hmm," Yemma mused, reading further into the file. "Spent the majority of your life as a pirate... destroyed hundreds of navy warships... killed a few marines and enemy pirates as well... robbed thugs and nobles... not to mention all the dine and dashing..."

"You're really going to hold _that_ against me?!" Ace yelled with a face fault.

"SILENCE!" Yemma roared.

Ace shut up. Okay, so the guy was a _little_ intimidating after all.

Yemma exhaled deeply and went back to Ace's file. "On the other hand... you only ever killed in self-defense or in the defense of others, you treated people with courtesy and kindness, and you died protecting the life of your younger brother."

Ace smiled at the thought of Luffy. He was also glad there were clearly good things in his file, but he was still waiting for Yemma to say something about Roger. He wouldn't just ignore that... would he?

Yemma snapped the file shut. "Well, while you were obviously no saint in life, I see nothing in here that warrants eternal punishment. I give you my seal of approval."

Ace was so shocked that he barely reacted when he was stamped on the forehead, as opposed to his file getting the seal.

"R-really? I'm not going to Hell?" Ace asked, rubbing the stamp on his head. "But what about my dad being Roger-"

"Kid, Gol D. Roger was just one man in an entire universe. He doesn't even _make_ the list of irredeemable scum I've had to send on down over the centuries," Yemma deadpanned. "Even if he had, sons are not responsible for the sins of their fathers, no matter what that backward government of yours may think."

Ace blinked owlishly, then smiled in what looked to be relief. "If you say so."

He literally had no other response to that. Pops had said it, Gramps had said it, and now hearing a deity say it made it feel real. Ace felt like a humongous weight had been removed from his chest and he was going to _enjoy it_ , damn it.

Yemma nodded. "Good. Now, your case is an interesting one. You are pirate, a man who has spent his life on the sea and in freedom. Therefore you have two options as to where you go. The first is Heaven."

"What's Heaven like?"

"It's a rather nice place. It has fields of flowers, long winding paths, everyone gets along, there's everlasting peace-"

"That sounds totally asinine," Ace interrupted, wrinkling his nose.

"It totally would, to a man like you," Yemma admitted. "That's why you have the second option of going to Sailor's Paradise. This is a place for people like you who dedicated their lives to the sea. They are immensely more happy there than they would be in regular Heaven."

Ace grinned. "If it's all the same to you, I think I'd like to go to this Sailor's Paradise."

"I thought you would," Yemma said, giving Ace's file one last stamp. "Just follow the ogre to your right and he'll take you to the transport."

Ace nodded and started to turn right... before he stopped. He had to know something.

"Um, really quick... if you didn't send Roger to Hell, where is he?" the young pirate asked.

Yemma raised an eyebrow, then shrugged. "His case was an odd one, so I do recall it. I sent him to Sailor's Paradise, but he demanded to be sent to Heaven after a couple of years."

"Why?"

"So he could be with some woman, apparently. He raised such a fuss that I just sent the lady over to him in Sailor's Paradise so they both could be happy. Now get going."

The woman had to be his mother, Rouge... Gramps had said Roger loved her, but he was always a little skeptical. The fact he almost gave up Sailor's Paradise proved it... heck, the fact he was even in Sailor's Paradise at all proved the Roger was possibly not the demon his world had made him out to be. Still, Roger had been the cause of his life being so hard, so that was a meeting Ace was half anticipating and half dreading. He would have to worry about it later. He left the station and followed an ogre who led him to large open space. In the space were several strange, winged contraptions. Flying ships, maybe?

Eh, it was a mystery, as Luffy would have said.

Ace looked around. One flying ship was labeled 'Heaven', and another was labeled 'Warrior's Paradise'. He saw Forma getting in line for the first one, and she waved at him when she caught his gaze.

"Right this way, sir," the ogre said, interrupting his thoughts and gesturing to one of the contraptions. "The plane will be taking off shortly."

"Right."

Ace floated up to the stairs leading inside the plane, but was stopped by the ogre's hand.

"Oh, I just remembered. You were supposed to be given this upon receiving judgement," the ogre said, holding out a box. "Here, take it and board the plane."

Ace took the box and climbed up the stairs and into the plane. He saw a number of pirates in there, from both the Whitebeards' allied crews and the Whitebeard crew itself. His fellow pirates jumped from their seats in shock and rushed over to the second division commander, demanding to know what he was doing there. Ace didn't blame them- they _had_ given their lives in his rescue attempt. He explained to them how he died, and they were surprisingly sympathetic. Wanting to save one's brother was understandable, especially to the Whitebeard crew.

(There were also a couple of Marines on the plane, but they remained in their seats and scowled. They clearly weren't happy to be going to the same place as pirates.)

After catching up with his comrades, Ace took a seat near the front of the plane, placing the box he'd been given on his lap. Staring at it curiously, he lifted the lid and his eyes widened.

"Attention, please! Would everyone buckle up? We'll be lifting off in roughly five minutes," the ogre at the front of the plane announced.

Ace grinned his infamous grin and placed his old orange hat on his head. He had no idea how those ogres got their hands on it, but hey, he wasn't going to complain. And now he was minutes away from going to Sailor's Paradise. He was actually a little excited.

 _The adventure continues and all that_ , he thought. _No one said it would ever stop with death_.

Ace believed he would like this Sailor's Paradise. If he was lucky, he would see Thatch and maybe even Sabo there. And while he would miss the ones he left behind, they would one day come to Otherworld and join him there.

Luffy for sure. He didn't have an evil bone in his little rubber body.

But for now, Luffy was alive and would stay that way for a long time if Ace had any say.

And that made it all worth it.

* * *

 **Not the most exciting thing I've ever written, or even the best, but I had fun with it. And if Luffy ever did go to Otherworld, he would probably floor Yemma with having a heart as pure as Goku's.**

 **And yes, I made up Sailor's Paradise. I just didn't see Ace fitting in with those in Warrior's Paradise (Ace was a nice guy, but he hadn't really done anything worth keeping his body as per Otherworld standards). Also, he would have been bored to death (ha!) in a place like the Heaven planet.**

 **As for my quick OC, Forma, her name is a pun (she _is_ from the DBZ world). Her name is a pun on the word in _forma_ tion, which she gives Ace upon his arrival. She has a brother named Data. :D**

 **Did you spot the TFS reference? It totally fit, so I put it in.**


End file.
